Appropriate level of alfalfa hay in diets for rearing Simmental crossbred calves in dryland China

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dc.contributor.authorKobayashi, Nobuyuki
dc.contributor.authorHou, Fujiang
dc.contributor.authorTsunekawa, Atsushi
dc.contributor.authorChen, Xianjiang
dc.contributor.authorYan, Tianhai
dc.contributor.authorIchinohe, Toshiyo
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-11T11:55:58Z
dc.date.available2021-06-11T11:55:58Z
dc.date.issued2018-05-24
dc.descriptionPublication history: Accepted - 2 May 2018; Published online - 24 May 2018en_US
dc.description.abstractObjective: In dryland areas of China, alfalfa hay (AH) is a possible substitute for concentrate feed for beef cattle. To evaluate the potential benefits of this substitution, we studied the effect of the ratio of AH intake to total dry matter (DM) intake on average daily body-weight gain (ADG), dietary energy utilization status, and economic benefit in Gansu province. Methods: In each of two feeding trials in 2016 (trial 1 [T1], July 3 to 17; trial 2 [T2], August 15 to September 23), crossbred male Simmental calves were allocated to low AH (LA), medium AH (MA), and high AH (HA) feeding groups (n = 4 per group). The target ADG was set as 1 kg for both trials. In a one-way-layout design based on conventional feeding practices in the province, calves received diets containing the different AH amounts, with a constant ratio of corn stover:total DM and decreasing rations of concentrate feed proportional to the increase in AH. Calves in T1 received AH at 15% (T1-LA), 23% (T1-MA), or 31% (T1-HA) of their dietary DM allowances; those in T2 received 9% (T2-LA), 24% (T2-MA), or 34% (T2-HA) AH. Results: Among the T1 groups, both ADG and economic benefit were highest in T1-LA; whereas in T2, they were higher in the T2-LA and T2-MA groups than in T2-HA. Energy digestibility did not significantly differ among the groups in either trial. The dietary AH inclusion ratios of 14% in the warm season and 8% to 21% in the cool season appeared to yield optimal ADG, metabolizable energy intake, and economic benefit. Conclusion: Low-level inclusion of AH, ranging from 8% to 21%, is a practical approach for beef cattle feeding. This modified feeding regimen likely will promote increased growth performance during the fattening stage of beef steers in dryland areas of Gansu province, China.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe thank the students of the College of Grassland Science (Lanzhou University, China) for supporting the animal experiments and the operation of respiration chambers (LZUCKY-S-DXCLZ-001), and for analyzing feed and fecal samples. This study was supported by the Marginal Region Agriculture Project of Tottori University, the National Key Project of Scientific and Technical Supporting Programs of China (2014CB138706), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31172249), Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest (201403071), and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in the University of China (IRT17R50).en_US
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12518/272
dc.identifier.citationKobayashi, N., Hou, F., Tsunekawa, A., Chen, X., Yan, T. and Ichinohe, T. (2018) ‘Appropriate level of alfalfa hay in diets for rearing Simmental crossbred calves in dryland China’, Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 31(12), pp. 1881–1889. doi: 10.5713/ajas.18.0089.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2765-0189
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.18.0089
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherAsian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societiesen_US
dc.rightsCopyright © 2018 by Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.en_US
dc.subjectAlfalfaen_US
dc.subjectSubstitutionen_US
dc.subjectEconomic benefiten_US
dc.subjectDryland area in Chinaen_US
dc.subjectFeeding trialen_US
dc.titleAppropriate level of alfalfa hay in diets for rearing Simmental crossbred calves in dryland Chinaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dcterms.dateAccepted2018-05-02
dcterms.dateSubmitted2018-01-26

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